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Let youths help define ASEAN’s future and progress
One positive takeaway from the recent ASEAN Summit is that the bloc seems to be realizing it must change, and one way it could do this is by drawing on the ideas and talents of the region's youth.
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President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (center left, below mast) and First Lady Iriana (center right) host ASEAN leaders and their spouses aboard a ‘pinisi’ traditional schooner on May 10, 2023, during the ASEAN Summit in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. (Presidential Palace/Agus Suparto)
T
he recent 42nd ASEAN Summit received an overwhelmingly negative review, but could a press conference be the best indicator that ASEAN is realizing that change is a must?
There was not much to say about the gathering at Labuan Bajo, except perhaps the great setting offered by a magnificent traditional boat sailing the seas with all ASEAN leaders aboard, sitting and chatting on its deck.
Yet despite the many gloomy reviews of the bloc’s inability to rise to the challenges of the region, perhaps we can find some signs of optimism. The press conference the new ASEAN secretary-general, Kao Kim Hourn, gave with the diplomatic community about the summit’s outcomes was one of them.
Though the ASEAN Secretariat has not disclosed the contents of that briefing, Kao sent a small but positive signal that the bloc needed to make a much stronger effort in communicating.
This is not even close to what is truly needed. ASEAN desperately needs much stronger engagement with the public.
One current mechanism intended to forge options for its future could help if it is rebooted and energized with an infusion of youths’ talents. The involvement of very prominent regional statesmen could also help a lot.
The mechanism referred to is the High-Level Task Force on the ASEAN Community Post-2025 Vision (HLTF-ACV). The task force’s work should matter to the region’s people even if its abbreviation can hardly generate emotions and passions, as it is mandated to provide options on how ASEAN will look like in the years to come.
